* CDN Exclusive * Greysheet on Hand to See First CAC Slab Off the Press

Earlier this week I had the exclusive opportunity to witness the first official CAC slab being sealed and released for public viewing. A major thunderstorm was pounding outside but the real lightning was happening in the new CAC grading facility. Ours was the only news outlet available to attend this momentous event and I expect this moment will be an historic one in the history of numismatics, not to mention a seminal moment in the growth phase of the CAC company itself.

In slabbing its first coin in Virginia, CAC has effectively relocated its headquarters from Far Hills, NJ to Virginia Beach. The founder and president, John Albanese, personally plans to remain in New Jersey but will make a regular commute to his new southern HQ. The existing business of stickering of PCGS and NGC coins will still happen in New Jersey for an indefinite time.

A first visit to the CAC Grading facility in Virginia Beach, VA, including the first official coin to be slabbed: a 1928 Hawaiian commemorative graded CAC AU58

Observations I had on this historic visit:

1. The building is large and state of the art. CAC has built their new headquarters with an eye towards large-scale growth and it is clear this is not a bolt-on to the stickering business.
2. The slab is beautiful, yet understated, slightly thicker than a PCGS slab but otherwise similar in dimensions to the PCGS and NGC slabs. Albanese says that “perfecting the slab has been a top priority in launching our new product.”
3. The Hawaiian I saw in person graded AU58 and looked gorgeous. The coin had some minor rub on the high points but otherwise this is a classic choice slider, and she looked amazing. If this is the grading standard these coins will be very desirable in the marketplace.
4. The support staff and graders are super excited. The team leadership has been preparing the operation, assembling a staff of world class graders, training slabbers and imagers, and everything in between for well over a year. By my perception, they are fired up and ready to scale up.   

CAC grading serial #1: 1928 Hawaiian commemorative half dollar graded AU58 "Essay Contest Winner" (Image courtesy of CACcoins.com)

I was given a full tour of the new facility but not permitted to take any pictures, nor do I want to describe the interior for security purposes. I will only add that John and his team have seemingly spared no expense to create a world-class grading and authentication facility.

As a 40-year resident of Virginia Beach, it is truly exciting to see the addition of a major numismatic company coming to town. Our immediate region is now home to multiple national coin operations: David Lawrence Rare Coins, Stack's Bowers Galleries, Harry Laibstain Rare Coins, CAC Grading, and of course CDN Publishing -- home of the Greysheet. I'm guessing we'll see some more companies coming as Tidewater, VA becomes a numismatic epicenter. I couldn't be more excited about that either.